Mikel Arteta has clapped back after being criticised by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the wake of the striker's departure from Arsenal earlier this month.
The 32-year-old was stripped of the club captaincy after multiple disciplinary breaches, and was made to train on his own before not being invited on the Gunners' midseason trip to Dubai. Clearly no longer part of his manager's plans, the Gabon international then managed to have his contract in north London terminated to facilitate a move to Barcelona.
When asked about the breakdown in relationship between himself and Arteta, Aubameyang claimed that the issues stemmed from the Arsenal manager rather than himself.
"My last few months at Arsenal were complicated, that’s football sometimes," the former Borussia Dortmund forward said upon his arrival at the Nou Camp. "For my part, I never wanted to do anything wrong.
"My problem was only with Arteta. I can’t say much more, I wasn’t happy.”
And now the Spaniard has delivered his response to his former skipper's claims.
"You ask me the question directly to me, so I’ll respond," Arteta said when quizzed on the reasoning behind Aubameyang's departure in his press conference ahead of the Gunners' Premier League clash with Wolves.
"I’m extremely grateful for what Auba has done at the club, for his contributions since I’ve been here. The way I see myself in that relationship is the solution and not the problem."
When asked directly about the comments made by his former striker, the 39-year-old was willing to accept that he may have seen the course of events differently.
"It’s his opinion and that’s his opinion," Arteta said. "That’s what he said and you have to respect that."
Given his previous clashes with characters in the Arsenal squad such as Mesut Ozil and Matteo Guendouzi, some have questioned whether Arteta's decision was driven by a desire to stamp his authority at the Emirates Stadium.
However, the Spaniard refuted these claims, stating that all decisions taken had been made with the best interests of the club in mind.
"Wrong, I do a lot of things wrong for sure, but the intention all the time is the best," he said. "Not for me, but for the club and the team."
"I don’t send [messages with his decisions]," the Spaniard went on to add. "It’s not me here guys, it’s we, the club.
"We make decisions and we defend the club, to try and improve the club as much as possible, to respect the values and the traditions of this club."
